Bitch Mondays: Being Health (If You Want To. . .)

I’m not a stickler for ‘body image’, if anything, I’m probably the last one to be judging anyone on how big or how small they are seeing that I have this lovely uni-ab that, in actuality, isn’t an ab at all. . .yeah, it’s just my stomach. I’m pretty plushy and am one of those people that don’t quite embrace it because. . .I know it’s not healthy.

It would be one thing if I was eating fruits and vegetables everyday, exercising all the time, and practicing good habits constantly and still looked the way I do now: not the case. There’s people who look like me and are fifty million times healthier. At the end of the day it’s all about health. If your one of those people who don’t care what shape you are and are extremely comfortable in your own skin, that’s amazing and I wish I could be like you because I’m not. Just keep in mind that, if you love yourself, than it’s even more crucial that you treat your body with the same respect that you have for yourself. I’m no poster child. I like pizza, and chocolate, and junk food in general. Pizza is like my all time weakness. I could be working on homework in my dorm room, completely focused, and then a Pizza Hut commercial comes on and it’s like the world doesn’t exist anymore. It’s just me and the beautiful sweet image of pizza. . .but, over time, I’ve learned that moderation and substitution goes a long way. You like chocolate?: eat dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. You like pizza?: instead of picking up a frozen pizza because you don’t have pizza hut on speed dial, try making a pizza with ingredients that don’t have more than 10 letters. Even if you don’t have the time to make healthy food, you can change things within your diet and eat portions that are smaller and incorporate healthier things within it. Buying a bag of bananas or even one of those bags of salad isn’t going to make you go bankrupt. Doesn’t mean some healthy things that are organic can’t be expensive sometimes, but keep it simple. I’m not telling you to go get a bunch of expensive granola bars and oats and get things strictly that have organic things on them: there’s a lot people who just. . .don’t have time for it. I swapped out a lot of things from my diet that actually made a difference. I drink more water, I eat less carbs and fatty foods like potatoe chips, candy, cookies, cake, pizza (even though I have my moments. . . .), I try to make healthier choices when it comes to the meals I eat, like eating a salad for dinner instead of eating fries and chicken fingers or tacos. If I want something sweet, I try eating fruit instead of ice cream or something else. Again, I’m not perfect. In many ways, I’m very flawed especially when it comes to being healthy in terms of eating the right things and giving my body the amount of physical activity it needs, but I try. Trying is the most important thing, and as a friend has told me, understanding and knowing that being healthy is something your body needs is key to getting healthy in the first place. If you’re looking to take care of yourself in the long run, eat healthy and be healthy. If you’re cool with your lifestyle as is, it’s understandable, but if you feel like you need a change of pace, baby step your way through it and you won’t regret it. You’ll feel better and your body will thank you profusely.